Oranges and Lavender
by Wandering Wonderer
Summary: A series of oneshots for the NaruHina fan needing a fix of their favourite pairing. Whether Narutoverse or AU, there should be something for everyone. Updated sporadically when I finish a oneshot.
1. Clothing Chaos

**Disclaimer: I do not - nor have I ever, or ever will - own Naruto. It's a hard truth but there it is.**

**These oneshots - uploaded as I write them at random intervals - are the story ideas I've had over the years and never put them up online. Why? Just because. They're not outstanding literary works but they are fun to read and that's what people need every now and then.**

**Every oneshot is dedicated the members of the NaruHina You Were Always By My Side forum at , they're an awesome bunch of people.**

**Clothing Chaos**

**Premise:** AU. We've all probably been in a clothing store where the door of the change room is a curtain. Have you ever been in a store where the individual change rooms are a single curtain hanging from the roof to the floor in a circular fashion? I came across one a few years ago and though how awkward it would be to accidentally try to lean on it while changing. If only we could all have something as nice to fall on like Hinata does.

Posted - December 25, 2013.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki kept his head down as he went through the doors. Anyone would think he was leading a funeral procession. Except for the fact that he'd walked into a clothing boutique with walls of pink, and lace trimming. Lifting his head slightly, he made a beeline for the only other miserable-looking figure in the store. Coming up beside the dark-haired man, he punched him in the arm.

"I don't see why _I_ have to come shopping with _your_ girlfriend." Naruto whined at the other man.

Sasuke turned his dark eyes on Naruto. "Because she's _your_ best friend, and I don't see why _I_ should suffer alone."

"You are an evil bastard Sasuke-"

"Naruto you're finally here! Here, take this for me! Sasuke-kun, take this. And can you grab the size 8 of that top over there? And Naruto, follow me. But grab that white jacket while I grab this dress," ordered a pink-haired young woman with fierce green eyes and an even fiercer temper.

"Sakura, why do you need all these clothes?" Naruto asked.

"I don't need all of them, stupid. I have to go to a few of the hospital's parties over the next few weeks and I need the right outfits. Now, shut up and follow me."

As Naruto followed Sakura to the fitting rooms, forgetting to take the white jacket, he loathed even the sight of the curtained changing cubicles.

"What is the point of a change room made of a curtain? It can't be very safe, or private."

Sakura didn't answer, she only snatched the clothes out of his hand. After being instructed not to go anywhere, Naruto sighed as he leaned against a wall facing the curtain change rooms. He wanted to be anywhere else but here. Kiba, Lee and the other guys had invited him to an early drink at the pub. He briefly watched a dark-haired girl shove some clothes through to someone apparently changing behind another ridiculous curtained change room, before she disappeared back into the boutique.

"I really don't want to be here." He thought to himself.

* * *

"I really don't want to be here."

Hinata Hyuga huffed as she shimmied into a pair of skin-tight black jeans. She couldn't understand why she kept agreeing to go shopping with her sister Hanabi. Hinata liked shopping, but at her own pace. Hanabi had a sense of urgency and seemed to want to visit every store and have her older sister try on every item of clothing that was her size. Not that the clothes always were her size. And these types of clothes! She would never wear jeans this tight. And the top, it was cut way too low.

But Hanabi seemed to take it personally if she didn't try on everything she suggested. She also seemed to like putting her older sister through torture.

"Naruto, come here and take this, I need you to go and get a size lower," came a voice from the changing room beside her.

Hinata herself had been in the change room for the last twenty minutes trying on all the clothes Hanabi passed her way. If she got her own clothes on quick enough, she could make a hasty retreat from the store. Unbuttoning and unzipping the tight pants while almost simultaneously trying to take off the top, Hinata got stuck. She gave a hearty, forceful wrench at the top, only to have it get stuck and bunch up under her armpits. She decided her best course of action was the lean against the change room and put all her weight into pulling up the top.

She realised only half a second too late that her change room was only made out of one continuous curtain.

* * *

Naruto's mind was having trouble comprehending the situation. One moment he was next to Sakura's change room ready to receive the proffered garment, the next he was on the floor with a beautiful woman straddling his waist. And she was quite a sight to behold.

Her breasts were the first thing he noticed. To be fair, they were bare except for a pretty violet bra cupping them exactly right. The woman's arms were over her head, and what seemed to be a shirt bunched under her armpits. Although this only enhanced her already great cleavage.

Next, his eyes travelled down her tight stomach to the hint of orange underwear peeking out through a pair of unbuttoned pants. For years to come, he would never be able to remember the colour of the pants, only the orange of the underwear.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few moments, Naruto looked up at the woman's face. All he saw was blue hair, silver eyes and a red blush before she shrieked and was up and behind her curtain in a second.

He lay on the ground for only a moment longer before he was hauled to his feet by two security guards. Suddenly there was a mass of people around, including Sakura, Sasuke, the boutique's manager, and the younger girl that had been handing clothes to the woman that had fallen on him a moment ago. All of those faces were displaying some sort of negative emotion, except Sasuke, who looked mildly amused.

All of the negative faces were also shouting at him, and he couldn't decipher any, but the manager's last words came through loud and clear. "I will not tolerate sexual harassment of any kind in my store, I'm going to have to call the police-"

Naruto prickled. "Hey, now hang on a minute-"

"Wait!"

The voice cut through the shouts and the curtain to the change room opened to reveal the blushing, blue-haired woman. Naruto noticed she'd managed to get back into what he could assume was her own shirt, but there was still the peek of orange underwear through those ridiculously tight jeans. All heads turned to her.

"It was an accident!" She continued passionately until her eyes met Naruto's and she sunk into a spiral of embarrassment that made her blush deepen. "A-and anyway," she stuttered. "It was m-more my fault. I f-fell on him."

"But miss, you screamed," the manager said.

The young woman blushed harder, as if she hated the fact this was taking so long. "I f-fell onto this man half dressed, with p-personal areas on display. I screamed because I was em-embarrassed, nothing more."

The manager looked as if he were considering the possibility of her explanation, until Naruto noticed the older man's eyes travelled down the young woman's figure to rest lingeringly on her unbuttoned jeans. He bristled and stepped in front of the young woman, blocking the manager's view.

"You should be lucky she doesn't file a complaint against the store. Curtains for a dressing room! Why, anyone would think you only wanted to get a peek."

The glare Naruto fixed on the manager let the older man know he'd been caught out in his gaze of the young woman. The manager seemed to shrink in size under the metaphorical shadow cast by Naruto's frame and he slinked back into the store. Naruto turned to face the young woman, keeping his eyes fixed on her face.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

They stared at each other, mouths agape.

"Y-you have nothing to be s-sorry for. I f-fell on you," she said, resisting the urge to poke her index fingers together. It had been a nervous habit she'd had as a child.

"I guess so, but like you said, you had personal areas on display. Not that I minded, you look great. Argh!" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "What am I saying? Sorry!"

Her face was going from one shade of red to another with each of his phrases, before her sister stepped in and made her even more embarrassed.

"Ah, Hinata, your panties are showing!" Hinata cried, loud enough for anyone in the store to hear.

Hinata's face went from sunburnt to tomato red and she spun around with a squeak, diving into her curtain changing room for privacy. Sakura, thoroughly amused at the reddening of Naruto's cheeks, patted her oldest friend on the shoulder.

"Naruto, why don't you and Sasuke go and get a drink in the food court? I'll still be a little while."

Naruto hesitated for a moment, his eyes lingering on the closed curtains with the young woman called Hinata behind them. He failed to notice the smirk that adorned Hanabi's face as he turned away.

He took a few steps before he stopped, turned around and addressed the curtains. "Thanks for standing up for me, that was brave of you. I like people like you, you do what is right for others, putting your feelings after theirs. That makes you a good person. Do you think…no, never mind. Thanks again."

With that, he and Sasuke left the store and Hanabi smirked deviously after him. She turned back towards her sister's change room and saw that Hinata had poked her head out, looking after the blonde man as his figure disappeared from sight. Hanabi caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Hinata was red in the face and while Hanabi knew what her older sister had done – stepping out of the change room in that situation – had been a bold move for her, she hadn't made enough strides in her self-confidence to follow after him.

But Hanabi had.

She rushed out of the store, calling after Naruto as he walked with his dark-haired friend towards the food court. He turned around at the sound of his name and recognised the young woman racing towards him. She whipped a pen out of the satchel she was carrying and yanked one of his arms towards her, writing on his hand.

"This is my sister's phone number. She's too shy to admit she'd like you to call her," Hanabi said.

"I can't – I mean – I don't want her to think I was calling her because I saw," he paused, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "How good she looks."

"You said she was brave and a good person. That's enough for me. Trust me, I wouldn't let any sleazeball near her. Look, give it a couple of days and if you want to call her, call her. I won't tell her I've given you her number, so she won't be hurt if you don't call."

Hanabi left with a dramatic twirl and Naruto looked down at the numbers on the back of his hand. He whipped out his phone and saved the digits in his address book for later use.

Just under a year later when Naruto and Hinata announced their engagement, Hanabi gleefully demanded to be their maid of honour and god mother to their first child.

* * *

**Merry Christmas everyone!**


	2. Aphrodisiac

**Disclaimer: I do not own - and sadly never will - own Naruto. I only borrow them to have them do my bidding for the purposes of my and everyone else's entertainment.**

**Here's the second one already! Uploaded today because it was close to Hinata's birthday and I wanted to spread out the three oneshots I had completed within a reasonable time frame. Next one will be out on the 31st.**

**Aphrodisiac**

**Premise: **Mangaverse. It has always struck me that Hinata and Naruto would do very well as representations of a mood goddess and a sun god. I quite like this idea and may toy with it again.

Posted - December 28, 2013.

* * *

Wandering into the Village of Sky, Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga were struck by the depressingly ancient condition of the buildings. Each and every door, awning and window frame seemed to droop under the weight of its age. The buildings were not unlike an old man, groaning and creaking with every move.

As the pair came into view of the village's townsfolk, Naruto and Hinata reluctantly dropped their hands. It wasn't smart to parade their two-year relationship in front of residents and dignitaries of other villages. With Naruto being the likely successor for the Hokage position and Hinata being the Hyuga Heiress, they were high-reward targets for assassination, kidnapping and ransom.

But the couple would not let the threat to their lives stop their passion for their careers as ninja. And it was that passion that brought them to the Village of Sky. It wasn't a hard mission. Have a meeting with the leader of the town to draft up an ally treaty in an effort to further the path of peace.

Even though they weren't acting the lovey-dovey couple and they weren't drawing attention to themselves, Naruto and Hinata soon noticed they were getting long, intense looks from the people of the town. Then the whispers started.

"Did you see them?"

"Mummy, look at her! Look at him! Mummy!"

Inclining his head to whisper to his girlfriend – but not taking his eyes off the people – Naruto grinned.

"I think we're famous Hinata. Do you think what we did during the war has spread this far?"

"I'm not sure Naruto-kun, but it is odd."

Before Naruto could speak, a small boy came running up to them and gaped. His eyes slid from Naruto's bright hair and sunny smile to Hinata's long, dark hair and silver eyes. And then he ran off back to his mother and waved at the confused couple as they walked away.

Coming up to the oldest, most elegant of the ancient town's buildings, Naruto and Hinata entered the Town Hall, closing the door to the whispers and looks. It wasn't much better inside. A wizened woman carrying a tray of china gasped at the sight of the couple and dropped her wares. Hinata rushed over and helped the woman carefully pick up the broken china pieces.

"Tsuki-sama," the old woman gasped.

Before Hinata could answer, a dignified man followed by three advisors came quickly into the room, obviously drawn by the commotion. And much like the reaction of the townspeople, the dignified man and his advisors stopped and stared at the sight before them.

They saw a young, beautiful woman with hair as dark as night and skin as smooth as silk kneeling on the ground, her silver eyes casting a concerned gaze over the old woman beside her. Behind the kneeling women was a tall, strong man with blond hair as bright as the sun and eyes as blue as a clear sky.

The effect Naruto and Hinata's presence had on their demeanour was instantaneous. The finely-dressed man and his associates bowed deeply and began mumbling reverently.

"Hi-sama, Tsuki-sama, to what do we owe this honour?" asked the front-man.

Hinata looked back up at Naruto and both of them frowned in confusion.

"I think you have us confused with someone else. I am Naruto Uzumaki and this is Hinata Hyuga, we're from Konoha. For the ally treaty?"

The posse was silent for a moment, before the dignified man recovered and bowed again.

"Uzumaki-sama, Hyuga-sama, it is an honour. I am Sora Watanabe, I am the leader of this town. You must forgive our behaviour. You look like all our representations of our Sun and Moon gods who – it has been said – will one day walk the Earth and herald the beginning of the golden age."

"It is said," whispered the old woman from the floor. "That when the Sun and Moon gods join together as one, our Village will be bathed in new life and we will experience happiness like never before."

Hinata blushed vibrant red and Naruto's eyebrows raised in mischievous disbelief. Hinata stood and moved over to her companion.

"I can assure you, we are no gods," Hinata said softly. "And we mean no disrespect and we did not mean to deceive."

Sora looked from Hinata and Naruto to his advisors and then smiled. "There's no problem."

"Tomorrow is for work, but tonight we celebrate the arrival of our guests!"

Sora stood at the head of a long table and toasted Naruto and Hinata, who were sitting at the other end of the table, feeling as if they were on show. No sooner had they met Sora, he'd organised a dinner party with all the well-to-dos in town, with them as the guest of honour.

The guests must have been warned prior entering the dining room, because none of them were referring to the couple as the gods they supposedly looked like. Which was just how Naruto and Hinata wanted it. As it was an informal setting, Naruto and Hinata felt more relaxed and were able to act more like a couple, which seemed to thrill the dinner guests.

After the entrée, one of Sora's advisors came over to them with a bottle of expensive-looking alcohol.

"Uzumaki-sama, Hyuga-sama, you must try this drink. It is over 100 years old and is kept only for the most special of guests."

Hinata smiled and offered her glass. "If you feel we are worthy, then please."

The old man left after he finished pouring them both their drinks. The couple toasted privately and sipped from the drink. Quietly, they agreed it was nice and sweet, but nothing awe-inspiring or anything to indicate its age.

It was 15 minutes later that Hinata started feeling warm and when Naruto suddenly leant over and kissed her on the jawbone, she realised she needed to get some fresh air. Once she was satisfied the table's occupants were engrossed in their conversations, she excused herself to the garden which she'd seen near her and Naruto's room.

Sitting down on a low garden wall, Hinata fanned herself with one hand and tugged at her kimono with the other. She was getting hotter and hotter and she didn't know why. She pushed her hair away from her face and looked at the night sky, hoping the breeze would cool her face.

Lost in the moment as she tried to ignore her heated body, Hinata was surprised by a light in her room and movement from within. Standing up and walking over to the doorway back into her room, Hinata's body flushed all over again as she saw Naruto enter.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked from the doorway.

Naruto smiled at her warmly. "Are you okay? You've been gone a while."

"I'm fine, I was just feeling a little bit warm."

Naruto's smile turned cheeky and he moved over to Hinata, but not before locking the door. He placed a hand on her forehead before he leaned in for a kiss.

"Hm, you are a little warm. Why is that? I'm feeling the same. I had to get out of the dinner room or I would have embarrassed myself."

"Embarrassed yourself?"

Naruto smiled guiltily. He looked down himself and Hinata followed his gaze, she blushed when she noticed it. It was well hidden in the folds of his kimono but he was clearly excited.

He swallowed thickly as Hinata looked up at him through thick lashes. "Are you feeling warm as well?"

"No, I'm feeling…" he paused to choose the right word. "Needy."

Without another word, Naruto slid a hand around Hinata's waist and pulled her flush against him. They shared a demanding kiss, full of nibbling teeth and heavy breaths. They pulled apart with a gasp.

"Naruto-kun, do you feel that?"

The sound he made was akin to a growl. "Oh yeah!"

She almost laughed at his enthusiasm as he started trying to take off her kimono. "No Naruto-kun," though she wasn't trying to stop him. "Inside you."

"Yeah, we've been drugged. But don't worry, it's not fatal," he was silent for a moment. "Kyuubi says it's an…aphro…aphri-"

"Aphrodisiac?"

As Naruto's hand slid over her now naked shoulder, followed quickly by his lips, they realised they'd been drugged with the alcohol and they knew why.

"They really do think we're gods. And they think," he nipped at her shoulder. "That us being 'as one' will…what was it?"

"Herald the beginning of a new age," Hinata gasped as his lips skimmed her cleavage.

He chuckled against her skin. "Wouldn't want to disappoint."

* * *

**Happy belated Birthday Hinata!**


	3. New Year's

**Disclaimer: My New Year's resolution is to own the rights to Naruto. At the moment however, I do not.**

**So I end the year with NaruHina. Not like it was going to be any other pairing. But lately I've been on a NaruHina bender and I thought I'd cash in and push the creative mojo to end the year on the high.**

**Here's hoping for plenty of NaruHina developments in 2014. Last year ended with a staggering NaruHina development, so here's hoping for more this coming year...just with less death.**

**New Year's**

**Premise: **AU. Naruto makes a New Year's visit to a shrine, hoping for a change of pace. And maybe love.

Posted - December 31, 2013.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki tugged his jacket tighter, fiddling with the zip. The worn, orange garment was already zipped up all the way but the 24-year-old hoped the action of pretending to zip it higher would trick his mind into thinking he was warmer.

As he waited for the bells to toll midnight, heralding in the new year, Naruto was bumped as he made his way through the crowds at the shrine. A lesser man would have been jostled aside, but his athletic frame prevented it. As he caught up to his friends Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara, Naruto noted the many groups snuggled together for warmth.

Parents and children, couples, grandparents and friends, all these groups waited for the new year. His eyes lingered on the couples, cuddling and giggling and stealing the occasion kiss when they thought no one was watching. He envied them and their intimacy. In his whole life, he'd not had one meaningful romantic relationship.

"Come on Dobe, let's get in line to ring the bell."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his best friend, Sasuke. While he loved New Year's traditions – hoping they would one day lead him to a life his orphan status had originally denied him – Sasuke hated them. His dark-haired friend had been estranged from his family since he was 18, when they disowned his elder brother after Itachi had been imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Sasuke had only come along tonight because his girlfriend Sakura was meeting him here. She was apparently bringing along two friends, one who was new to the area and another who took any chance of meeting a man.

As the minutes ticked over and the new year began, Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru had their turn to ring the bell and make a prayer. He didn't know what his friends were praying for, but Naruto was praying for a change of pace. A difference. Something new.

Shikamaru treated them to a cup of amazake and they made their way over to the fortune table to buy a fortune. Looking at his fortune as he made his way over to a tree to tie it on to, he had to snort sceptically at it.

True Love.

"Yeah, right," he mumbled.

Then – as if the universe was mocking him – with a well-timed bump to the shoulder and a gust of wind, the fortune was knocked from his hand. Despite the fact he had snorted at its words, he chased after it as the paper picked up an air current above the heads of the other shrine-goers and got away from him. His height gave him an advantage and he could see its journey as it descended to the ground.

The crowd mercifully parted and Naruto was able to follow his fortune as it came to a rest at the feet of someone who had just tied their fortune to the tree. As he walked over to pick it up, the woman whose feet it had stopped at, bent down and picked it up. He came to a stop in front of her and his breath caught when his blue eyes caught her silver ones as she straightened up.

"U-um, is this y-yours?" she asked, holding out his fortune.

He grinned at the dark-haired young woman before him. "Yeah, thanks."

They both started at the jolt that ran through them when their gloved fingers touched as the fortune passed from one hand to another.

"I'm-"

"Naruto, there you are!"

Naruto's head turned at the familiar female voice. Sakura was approaching, her arm draped through Sasuke's. Shikamaru was trailing slightly behind with a blonde woman whose hair was up in a high ponytail.

"I see you've already met Hinata. Hinata, this is my friend Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, this is Hinata Hyuga, she's moved here recently and I thought tonight would be a good time for her to get out and meet new people." Naruto looked back the woman he now knew as Hinata and smiled. She smiled back shyly. "Come on, we're all going out for a drink to welcome in the new year."

Naruto's smile brightened, his eyes not leaving Hinata, whose face was reddening into an endearing blush. As the other four turned away to head down the steps of the shrine, Naruto daringly offered his arm to the quiet young woman.

"Those steps can be slippery," he explained.

Naruto noted – with pleasure – that she didn't even hesitate as her arm slipped through his, a gloved hand resting softly on his forearm.

As they made their way out of the shrine, Naruto pressed his fortune – still clutched in his other hand – into the hand of a passing young man about his own age. Hinata – who had been surreptitiously studying the young man she was with, with curiosity – noticed the exchange.

"A-are you sure you d-don't want to put that on the tree?" she queried.

"Nah, I don't think I need to."

* * *

**Happy New Year!**


	4. The Silent Siren

**Disclaimer: I do own Naruto. No, I only jest, I do not have that pleasure. Bummer.**

**Normally when I write a one-shot, there is something that sparks my inspiration. Even one of my other works, Instrumental, was inspired by listening to someone play a saxophone at an outdoor concert. This one though, I can't remember what sparked it. But I love it. It's the closest thing I've ever written to a fairytale.**

**The Silent Siren**

**Premise: **AU. In the middle of a dangerous ocean, there is an island of sirens. Although, one is different to the rest. Rather than join her sisters in killing with their song, she resigns herself to a life of silence.

* * *

In a world where the dangers man faced were numerous, there was one mythical creature - a siren - who lamented her existence. She loathed the fact she was one of those dangers.

A siren – a water being – was a magical creature who lured men to their deaths with their song, bewitching them so they steered their ships into rocks. Sirens lived and preyed near one rocky island in a stormy ocean, stealing the cargo of the shipwrecked ships and feasting on the flesh of the men lost in the waters.

One siren – thought to be the most beautiful, with her pale skin, hair as dark as the ocean and eyes as silver as the stars – loathed her very existence and dared not even to speak, in fear of causing a man his death. The other sirens were jealous of the silent siren's beauty and angry at her refusal to help lure men. They banished her from the shores of the main island and she was left to spend her days on a nearby collection of rocks, where she was unable to be with her kind, but close enough to return is she ever changed her mind.

The lonely, beautiful siren spent her time in sad silence, weeping on the days her sisters sang men to their deaths.

One day as the skies clouded over to herald an approaching ship and the sirens prepared to sing their song, the lonely siren sat on the edge of her rocky prison, kicking her naked legs in the waters. She closed her silver eyes as they misted over with tears when her sisters began singing, not wanting to watch the ship that was doomed to crash.

It took ten minutes for the inevitable to happen and the silent siren's insides clenched as she heard her sisters laugh with pleasure as they dove into the water on their way to claim their spoils. She clasped her hands over her ears to block out the screams that came as the sailors met their gruesome end.

Hours later, the silent siren sat on one of the sandy banks of her prison, drawing pictures in the sand, when something unfamiliar caught her eye. She watched in horrified fascination as the body of one of the sailors washed up beside her. She stared at it for a few moments, before it gave a shuddering gasp. She reeled back in shock, clasping her hands over her mouth to keep any sound from escaping.

As the half-drowned blonde man coughed and rolled on his back, gasping for air, the silent siren crawled forward, leaning over the man while she gently and curiously touched his shivering lips. His eyes snapped open and he tried to scream, recognising the creature as one of the kind that killed his crewmates. She clasped a hand over his mouth, lest his cries reach the ears of her sisters. She placed a finger to her lips, motioning that he should be silent.

He struggled to his knees and the silent siren studied him. His sopping blonde hair was dripping water over his blue eyes and his cheeks were each scored with three bloody cuts, undoubtedly from where he'd escaped from the clutches of one of her sisters. She moved closer to him, their knees touching, as she wiped at the bloody tracks, crying silently.

The blonde man looked at the creature as she touched his face. Even in his half-drowned and terrified state, he was shockingly aware of her naked beauty. And her actions gave the impression she was completely unaware of her beauty – or nakedness.

Once she was satisfied the cuts were not life-threatening, she shifted back slightly, not taking her eyes off him. It was the first time she had seen a man up close and she was curious. He was beautiful.

"Do," he croaked, the sting of screaming and salt water still scorching his throat. "Do you have a name?"

She stared at him, fascinated. The timbre of his voice was unlike anything she'd heard before, she'd only ever heard the melodic sounds of her sisters' voices. Usually when they laughed and played after they'd caused a wreck.

Then she frowned, the terrible thought that he may be taken away from her so soon after he appeared in her life. She leant forward, resting her ear against his chest – a chest covered only by the tattered remains of a shirt – and listened to the state of his heartbeat. She was relieved at the strength of the beat, satisfied he was in no danger of dying.

"H-Hey, what are you d-doing?" he sputtered, shocked by the creature's sudden and close proximity.

His heart skipped a beat and his breath caught as she looked up at him through long lashes, her expression innocent and curious. She seemed to notice his shock and moved away from him, thinking she'd scared him.

And why wouldn't he be scared? Her kind had killed his companions, why would he think her any different. She turned away from the beautiful blonde man and climbed over some rocks to put some distance between them and put him at ease. But her curiosity got the better of her and she turned to look at him, as he tilted his head to the side to watch her in confusion.

He squinted at the quiet creature, studying her actions and behaviour. She had not snarled, had not laughed a frightening cackle and had not licked her lips like he was something to eat. She was nothing like the beings he'd faced in the water. She was clearly one of them – one of the same kind – but she was entirely different.

He almost smiled at the innocent wonder on her face as she watched him from behind the rocks, she was like a child. Suddenly, he wasn't scared that she'd eat him. He laughed a sigh of relief and shook his head to get rid of some sea water. His guardian always said he was being watched over by the god of fortune.

As a child, he had shouted and disagreed. He was an orphan, how on earth was he lucky? His guardian – Jiraiya – said true fortune was finding good things among the bad. It made the good all the better, by brightening even the darkest moments.

And if being shipwrecked by an island inhabited by cannibalistic sirens was the bad, he could not have been more lucky to have escaped and be washed ashore onto a small patch of land inhabited by the only siren who did not have any interest in eating him.

He was suddenly aware that the silent siren was watching him intently, apparently fascinated by the way he was shaking his head to dry it. He stood up straight, careful that he couldn't be seen by the sirens on the main island, and stretched his back, arms and legs. He breathed in the sea air and soaked in the sunlight.

He heard the siren gasp and he looked at her, making tentative steps towards her. She curled away and it occurred to him that she was now wary of him. Of what he could do.

"My name is Naruto, what's yours?" she looked at him, a thoughtful frown on her face. "Do you have a name?" she shook her head. "Well, that doesn't seem fair. Can you speak?" she nodded. "Are you going to?" she shook her head again. "Why not?"

The siren looked out at the water and pointed at the few pieces of driftwood still floating nearby. Tears sparkled in her eyes and he suddenly realised she hated what she was born to do. When he asked if she had ever done it and she shook her head in the negative, he felt a sense of respect and admiration for her. Then he was flooded with a sense of sympathy.

Here was this woman – admittedly, not a human woman – a woman who could not be herself. One who had doomed herself to silence lest she kill someone. She was a good person trapped in a life she hated.

"Have you ever tried to leave?"

Her eyes widened, like she'd never thought of that before. Then she lowered her head and shook it sadly. Where would she go, she thought.

"If you helped me escape, you could come with me."

It wasn't an ultimatum, it was an offer. He was going to have to try and escape anyway, he couldn't live on this rocky pile. She could come with him. His guardian would understand, his friends would accept her. And maybe – away from the water where there were no ships – she could be free to speak without fear of hurting anyone.

"Will you come with me?

Suddenly, the skies darkened with clouds again and the siren's lovely face dropped in despair. The sirens' song rose in the air as the doomed ship came into view and Naruto felt his heart beat faster and his head grow light. He turned towards the beautiful song. He was close, he could reach the song.

He was suddenly knocked flat on the ground and stared up in shock at the silent siren, whose tears now dripped on his face. She was straddling him, her legs pressing firmly against his side as they rested in the sand. She placed her hands on his ears, shaking her head so her long, dark hair spilled out around them, creating a curtain that blocked them off from the rest of the world.

Naruto's mind cleared as the siren song vanished. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the new lighting and the close proximity of the silent siren. Their noses were touching, brushing against each other with each silent sob that racked her body. He lifted his hands and pressed them against her ears, wanting more than anything that she could block out the song he could no longer hear. Her eyes focused on his at his gesture but her tears didn't stop falling.

They stayed like that for hours. She didn't want him to hear the screams, didn't want him to see what could had happened to him. When the sounds of death finally subsided, she moved her hands away from his ears and collapsed on him, clinging to his warmth, his life. She pressed her ear against his chest, listening to the rapid heartbeat as if it was the song of salvation, rather than the song of death that still rung in her ears.

Beneath her, Naruto stared up at the sky, trying to ignore the delicious sensation of a naked and warm woman on top of him. His heart went out to her as her body still shook with sobs. All he could do was hold her as she tried to push out the memory of the siren song he knew she must hate with her entire being. Imagine hating something you knew you were born to do. He ran his fingers through her hair, trying to distract her from her pain.

How many times had she heard it? How many times had she witnessed death, knowing she could easily have taken part but chose not to? She must be so lonely and so sad, being surrounded by so much death.

But they were alive. He had survived against all likelihood and found himself with someone who had survived for who knows how long, her strength of heart and character giving her the courage to live in sad solitude, rather than stooping to murder. He kissed her forehead, thanking her for her strength. She looked up at him with wide eyes and he smiled goofily down at her, so happy to be alive and with her.

The silent siren looked at him intently, pondering the sudden warmth in her heart following the soft sensation on her forehead. She liked the feeling and wanted it to happen again. She copied his motion, sitting up so she could press her lips to the same spot on his forehead. The smile he gave her made the warmth inside her glow brighter. She lowered her forehead near his lips, inviting him to kiss her again and he did, with a low chuckle.

Her eyes were wide with wonder, she felt like she was alive – not just living – and she loved it. The crooked smile he was giving her made her feel something she could never remember feeling before. She was happy. Eager for these feelings to continue, she kissed him on that goofy smile and felt the happiness bloom within her.

He was startled by how much he enjoyed the kiss. His hands moved from her head to her shoulders and lifted her off him, staring at her with an identical sense of wonder and confusion. Then she smiled at him in genuine happiness and he was suffused with a sense of warmth and belonging. It seemed unfathomable that this small, silent creature – stranded on a small spit of land in the middle of nowhere – seemed to be made for him – with all her bravery and kindness – and him for her and he had found her.

They were together and they were alive and that was all that mattered. He lowered her back down to him and kissed her on the lips, brushing her hair away from her face. She snuggled into him as they continued to kiss, relishing in his warmth and heartbeat. As he rolled them sideways and one of his hands started trailing over her body, she began to feel more and more alive.

They dozed in the setting sun after their love-making, with the silent siren more than content to listen to his breathing and heartbeat. Her head rested on his chest as he lay with his back on the sand – one arm behind his head and the other around her waist, holding her close to him. She looked out over the sea, a whole world of possibilities opening up before her. She – a siren of great beauty who was tormented by the beauty of her sisters' song – had never experienced anything so beautiful as what she had just experienced with this man.

As the sun slipped beneath the horizon and she relished in his heartbeat and breath, something caught her eye. She sat up with a gasp, squinting out over the rapidly darkening sky. Beside her, Naruto sat up too, concerned.

"Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Motioning for him to stay back and stay silent, she cast a wary gaze in the direction of her sisters' island before she slid gracefully into the sea, ducking below the surface. Naruto watched her fluid movements in amazement, she was so graceful. Her head re-emerged from underwater a fair distance out and she looked in her sisters' direction again. No movement.

She disappeared from view again and Naruto had no idea where she'd gone or what she was doing, until he noticed a discrepancy in the line of the horizon. After a few minutes, he realised the discrepancy was in fact a small dinghy that he assumed had been tied to the most recent ship to get wrecked. The dinghy kept getting closer and closer to the small island he was on and he suddenly realised its path was out of sight of the main island full of sirens.

The dinghy stopped a few metres from the land and then his silent siren emerged from the water in all her naked glory. He thought she'd been beautiful in the sunlight but the vision of her rising wet from the water – drenched in the moonlight – was breathtaking. It took him a few moments to realise she was holding a rope, obviously tethered to the boat. She reached a hand out to him and his breath caught. He took her hand and stood up before her, suddenly appreciative of all their differences, their height being one of them. He stood a good head taller than her and he enjoyed the motion of leaning down to kiss her.

He got redressed and followed her into the water so he could climb into the dinghy. His entry into the vessel was uncoordinated and messy, hindered by the lack of a solid footing under him. He waited for a moment, expecting her to climb in after him, but she didn't.

The silent siren had moved around to the front of the dinghy and was pulling it along in the water as she began to swim. A smile bloomed across his face as he realised they were getting further and further away from the sirens' island.

After the third day out on the water, the terror of the possibility of being discovered by the sirens was replaced by the terror of not discovering another ship. During the middle of the day, his silent siren would join him in the dinghy for a few hours and bathe him in cool water. But he could feel the effects of not having any water or food.

He was very drowsy as the sun made its way across the horizon and he was blacking out as a cool breeze made itself known. He felt tears fall on his cheek and he managed to open his eyes wide enough to see his siren. If he was dying, he wanted the last thing he would see to be her. He reached up a shaking hand to brush the tears from her face and smiled at her.

As his world greyed, he felt his beloved stiffen.

The silent siren's head snapped up, looking out to the ocean. A ship. She could see it. But in the fading light, they couldn't see her waving her arms. She couldn't leave her lover to die alone. There was only one choice. Kissing him sadly on the lips, she pulled his head into her lap and opened her mouth, tears falling down her cheeks.

She sang. It was the song she loathed, the song of luring, but it carried out across the water and she did not flinch as a light from a lantern on the passing boat hit her face. Looking down at her beloved, her song grew louder. She was calling to them, luring them and she needed them there soon.

Naruto had heard this song before. It was responsible for the deaths of his crewmates. But as his senses faded, he realised the song was sad. It was a plea, not a cajole. He smiled as his life left him. She was brave, she was kind, she was beautiful and she was the last thing he saw.

And her beautiful, sad song was the last thing he heard.

The siren – silent no longer – ceased her song as the ship came close enough and she pleaded through her tears to save her man. There was running and other hurried noises around the ship as a rope ladder was lowered and two men climbed down into their dinghy. Her beloved was strapped into a harness and lifted up onto the ship and was motioned up the ladder.

As she crawled over the side of the ship, she didn't even notice the naked stares of the sailors as she threw herself at her beloved. She pressed her ear to his chest – a now familiar gesture – and screamed in agony at the lack of a heartbeat. She pressed her fingers to his lips, hoping to feel a breath, but none came. She threw herself over him in an embrace reminiscent of the one that followed their love-making.

Looking up at him – instead of the sea, as she had done after their love-making – she opened her mouth and sang a new song. It was a song of love and sadness. The joy of finding and the heartbreak of loss. Her tears fell, marking his rapidly cooling body with her despair.

She sat up, frantic. She was immortal but life was not worth living without him. He was goodness and love and warmth. The world would go on without. She could not live for eternity having found him and then to lose him so soon. She scrabbled to the side of the ship, where a knife lay tangled against a coil of rope.

She crawled back over to her love, kissing him softly on the lips. Her song of sadness transformed into a song of farewell and the words were wrenched from her mouth as her she plunged the knife into her heart. There were shouts of shock around her but she ignored them, pulling the knife from her chest. The red life-blood dripped from her wound and stained her body but she didn't care. She was going to join her love.

She sobbed as the blood from the knife dripped on his face and she wiped at the drops on his lips, the blood on her hands only smearing it on more. She felt her life-force leaving her and for the first time in her eternal life, she felt cold.

Taking up her position, curled against his chest, she began to sing again. It was a song of new life, a prayer that they could be together in the next life. As her hearing dimmed, something stirred within her. No, not within her, underneath her. She opened her weary eyes and smiled as her love wheezed back into life. She sang to him, a song of joy and happiness as she brushed at his lips with hers.

He was shouting at her, clutching her in his arms as he sat up. His tears fell on her face as the world darkened. She smiled. He kissed her. She smiled again. She had lived more in the four days she had known him than all the time before that.

His lips were on hers again. "I love you," he whispered.

She smiled, finally at peace.

And then gasped in a breath as it rushed through her body. She was cold and wet and sore but she was alive. Blinking her eyes open, she was greeted by the wide, tearful but exuberant blue eyes of her love. She felt the wound in her heart and chest heal and as a cold sensation rushed over her body, she realised her immortality had left her. She had willingly given it up so the man holding her in his arms could live.

"Naruto?" she whispered.

His smile was dazzling. "You're alive," he said, and it was an exclamation, a question and a blessing all at once. "You saved me. How, why?"

It could have been any number of things that allowed this miracle. Her blood on his lips, her song, her kiss or all of the above. So she gave the relatively simple answer. "I-I gave up my immortality," she sounded as astounded and happy as he did.

"Why?"

She smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. "Because I love you."

Things happened in a rush after that. The shocked sailors snapped back into their training and rushed around to get them fresh water, food and blankets. The medic on board bustled the rescued couple off to the sick room, when they quickly fell into an exhausted but blissful sleep in each other's arms on a small cot.

The next three days were spent recuperating. Newly revived by the sacrificial gift of immortality or not, they had not eaten in days.

On their fourth day on board, the lovers stood at the edge of the ship, watching the sun rise. Naruto's arms were wrapped around his former siren's waist and he placed gentle kisses on her neck from behind.

"Are we immortal now?" he asked, curious.

She extracted herself from his arms and turned to look at him with a smile. "No, my immortality was only strong enough to bring us both back. To live human lives. Together."

He grinned his goofy grin. "Together," he agreed with a gentle kiss. "Although, we're going to have to give you a name. You're not a siren anymore. Any ideas?"

She smiled. "You decide. You gave me a life, so you should give me a name."

He was breathless with the enormity of the gift she was giving him. Not only to have found his soul mate, but to name her? Was there a name good enough for the woman who had saved your life and loved you? He looked at her as she smiled beatifically at him, bathed in sunlight.

"Hinata."

His expression was hesitant as he waited for her to respond. He was worried when tears came to her eyes but was calmed by her smile and kiss. He smiled, bolstered.

"Your name is Hinata."

Together, they turned and looked towards the sun, wondering what adventures life would bring.

* * *

**Thanks all, I hope you enjoyed it.**


End file.
